Just Between Us
by Sharmander
Summary: In which the secret life of Roxas' twin brother is revealed. All because Sora owes money and ends up having his nerdy brother kidnapped by accident, inadvertently changing both their lives forever. Really, just when you think you know a person...
1. Kidnapping Gone Wrong

**Chapter One**  
Kidnapping Gone Wrong

The musky scent of sweat blanketed the small blonde as he awoke. The other smells, like the metallic aroma of blood reached his nose a few moments later. The pounding in his head didn't start until his eyes blinked open, taking in the bleak surroundings of a large room that was quite barren. The walls must have been white a long time ago, figured Roxas as he looked around the room trying to get a feel of where he was. The once white walls were now yellowing, or at least it seemed so. It was hard to tell without his glasses, plus there was very little light in the room. The source of the light was unknown to the blonde.

The panic started once he attempted to move. His limbs felt tons too heavy and the pounding in his head that was a minor annoyance behind his eyeballs before, became a stabbing, skull splitting ache. He clenched his eyes shut and a whimper tore past his throat as he flopped back against the bed. "_Why am I in so much pain?"_ was the first thought in his head after it stopped hurting enough for him to process thought. The panic was still there, lying underneath millions of questions flooding his brain. _"Why can't I fucking move?"_ was his second most prominent thought.

The blonde wiggled the fingers on both his hands, then the toes on his feet slowly bringing his scenes up to par. He felt…_chained_ to a bed, and he was almost sure he was in his pajamas. Roxas tried again to lift his arms; he was met with nothing but a strong resistance against his wrists. He tried alternating; some corner of his mind realized it was just as useless as moving your arms together, but his panic drowned out all reason. His squirming became thrashing in a matter of minutes with the more he tried to move and the less he did it fueling on his panic. It was growing at a frightening speed the longer he stayed in this forced state of paralysis.

It didn't take very long for his voice to work its way into his panic. It was time to make it known that he was indeed in distress. It broke past his lips in a pain filled cry for help. He felt the flesh of his dry lips ripping apart as he opened his mouth, he felt the crunch of dried blood breaking off his face with the more muscles he moved. This only served to increase his growing fear; it fueled more questions to form, even more rapidly than before. _"Why am I covered in blood?"_ was the third thought to worm its way to the front of his mind and he scanned his brain searching for an answer to his questions.

All he found was a frightening amount of black space filling his mind. Dark, prominent gaps of nothingness where he was sure memories should rest. Roxas repeated the search, each time more frantic than the last. Again he cried for help, giving up on the thought that maybe someone had heard and was already coming. "Help me!" he cried, the dryness in his throat stopped him from screaming, and he took up the thrashing, his ears picking up the sounds of rattling chains. The more feeling came to him, the more he decided he needed help. He was bound down to a bed for crying out loud, there was something wrong here.

There was a loud sound to his left, and he blinked furiously as he watched the blurry door open in the darkness. Light poured in and Roxas had to squint as it hurt his eyes, but only for an instant because soon enough the door was shut and there was someone else in the room with him.

"W-Who are you?" Roxas rasped, the sweltering heat in the room finally registering in his mind, explaining the persistent stench of sweat. The figure said nothing, and instead turned towards the wall, flicking on a light switch and filling the room with blinding brightness. The blonde hissed, closing his eyes before slowly opening them again. All this drastic change in light was hurting his already aching head.

"Better question would be who are you?" The question went completely unnoticed because Roxas was too busy staring at the speaker. He was tall, around 6'3 if not more and on top of all that height sat a head of cherry red hair. The blonde blinked crazily, the blurriness of his vision driving him insane as he tried to focus enough to make out the man's features. Suddenly, the man was close and even blurrier than before, gripping Roxas' chin with rough calloused finger tips and moving the blonde's head in all directions. "Who the fuck are you kid?" The voice was angry and very close making Roxas jump back slightly, cringing into the bed. His head was still aching and the tight grip the man had on his jaw was starting to make it hurt even more. The man released Roxas' face and turned, quickly disappearing from the room.

The loud shouting on the other side slowly grew louder and louder, the door flying open and the light revealing another man along side the redhead. This one frightened the blonde just as much, but it was mostly all the scars and the eye patch that scared him. The man was simply blinking as the redhead shouted at him angrily "Who the fuck is this kid? This is not fucking Sora!" the redhead was roaring, and the man in front of him continued to look at the redhead blankly before turning to look at Roxas.

"What do you mean it's not Sora? It looks just like him," The man said, motioning towards Roxas as the blonde lay on the bed with his head up, straining to watch the scene unfold before him. The mentioning of his brother's name is what really captured his attention, and immediately he knew he had to know what was going on. He felt beads of sweat collecting on his forehead as he strained to keep his head up, yet he had to know what was happening. Sora had disappeared a few weeks ago, claiming he had to leave and had not answered anyone's questions. Roxas had been really bothered by that, usually his twin told him everything. At least Roxas knew he shared everything with Sora, he could only hope his twin did the same. Though, slowly as this situation progressed Roxas was becoming aware that maybe Sora had been leaving something out.

"Sora's not a fucking blonde, nor does he wear fucking glasses! This is the last fucking time I send you and damn Demyx to do anything…and what the hell did you do to him?" the redhead turned and marched right towards the blonde. "These are yours, right?" he said, shoving a pair of glasses onto the blonde's face. Roxas blinked as everything suddenly focused and became sharp. The man's features were finally clear, and Roxas felt his breath catching in his throat when his eyes connected with bright jade ones.

"What do you mean?" The man with the eye patch asked as Roxas listened to them speak, not really knowing what else to do. The shock of what was happening was still coating his brain, making him slow and very confused.

"Why is he all bruised and bloody?" The red head asked, examining Roxas' face again.

"He put up a good fight, Demyx had to hit him over the head with a vase when we went to grab him just to stop him from kicking and punching. About the blood, that was the heat earlier. It made his nose bleed or something," there was laughter in the man's voice, as if the whole thing caused a tickle deep in his gut. Roxas blinked crazily at the blankness in his own memory at the story being told. Clearly he had taken part in it, if he had put up a good fight. Sadly he couldn't remember anything, and all he had left now was the aching. At least his pain was explained.

Then he remembered he had questions and was still strapped to a bed and the anger burst through his frame quickly. He tugged crazily on the bindings and tried kicking his legs before glaring more heatedly at the men now that he could see them. "Why the hell am I strapped to this bed and what do you want with my brother?" he shouted and the red haired man just smiled at him before shaking his head and slapping his cheek a few times lightly, but still hard enough to sting.

"You're in no position to be asking questions," The tall man said before straightening up, his attention once again on the other man in the room. "Go get Demyx and tell him to start the fucking car…I swear to God, you're both idiots," The eye patch man made his way slowly towards the redhead, dropping a pair of keys into his outstretched hand before his eye landed on Roxas.

"At least he's cute, no Axel?" He grinned and Roxas cringed back into the bed, sending the man a disgusted look. The redheaded one apparently named Axel laughed, shaking his head before leaning over and unbuckling the strap around Roxas' wrist. Immediately the blonde swung it outwards crazily, trying to land a decent hit. Axel grabbed his arm quickly and pinned it to his side, sending him an angry glare with a forced smile.

"Stay the fuck still or else I'll leave you here and go find Sora myself," the red head hissed and Roxas immediately stilled. With the other man already gone from the room, the two were left in complete silence. The blonde swallowed nervously before deciding to ask his questions a lot calmer. His heart was still pounding hysterically though, and his mind was still in a panicked puddle trying to process everything happening.

"Why are you looking for him?" Roxas' voice was rather raspy, and he could feel the movement of his dry tongue, the muscle sticking to the insides of his mouth as he spoke. Axel stared down at him before turning and pulling a water bottle out of a drawer, quickly handing it to the blonde's freed hand, and he turned to free the blonde's bound feet. Roxas was about to complain, the water felt very warm in his palm but then he decided against it. At least he was being given a drink, after all, beggars can't be choosers.

"You still are in no place to ask questions," the redhead mumbled before leaning across Roxas' body to unbuckle his other wrist. Finally free Roxas leapt up, quickly trying to scurry away, only ending with the man's hand tugging him backward by his fine hair. He fell back with a strangled cry of pain and the man quickly straddled his hips, glaring down at him and successfully pinning him down. "Just where do you think you're going? You're coming to help me find your fucking brat of a little brother."

"I don't know where he is!" was Roxas' automatic response. In all honesty he didn't _really_ know where Sora was, but he had a few good guesses which he was sure were right. His brother wouldn't go very far, and he would probably stay with his friends. Roxas knew them all. In fact, Roxas knew pretty much everything about his twin, but he obviously wasn't going to tell these maniacs all that information.

"Don't bullshit me kid," with that the redhead got off Roxas and quickly turned the blonde over. Immediately Roxas froze, his body going tense as the redhead gripped his wrists and pulled them behind his back. The cold steel of handcuffs made him jump but relaxed his over worked mind. _"He's just cuffing me_," thought Roxas, his fingers twitching as the metal tightened around his wrist. Roxas could feel the man over him as he lay on his stomach, his heart pounding and his lungs needing much more air than usual. He didn't know what else he thought Axel was going to do, but he also didn't want to think about it. It was a strange fleeting fear he was sure almost everyone had in the backs of their minds. Though Roxas probably more than most…especially since that horrible accident in the gym washroom. Thank God Sora had been there…

Suddenly the knowledge of being handcuffed registered in his mind and he tried to wiggle away from Axel. The man stood up and pulled Roxas with him. "Why are you cuffing me?" Roxas shouted with his throat still dry because he had never gotten his chance to drink water. The bottle lay forgotten on the bed as Axel tugged the blonde towards the door.

"Why the hell are you in your pajamas?" Axel decided to ask instead and Roxas felt himself blushing before stopping completely. The redhead tugged him with a bit more force causing him to stumble but not fully take a step. With a groan Axel turned towards him and leveled Roxas with a heated glare. "What is it?"

"I'm not moving until you answer some of my fucking questions!" Roxas, finally having a moment to think decided to play along with Axel. Maybe using the redhead to drive him to his apartment, with the excuse of having to get Sora's information or something, where he'd then call the police and get these lunatics put behind bars. Then he'd find Sora himself and ask him what the hell is really going on.

"Your brother owes my boss quite the sum of money, and I'm cuffing you because I'm taking you with me to find him," The redhead stared at Roxas as the blonde processed all the information he was being told and finally he took a hesitant step towards the man. He wasn't very sure what the red head was talking about. Why would Sora owe anyone money? Roxas had known absolutely nothing about that. He was sure if Sora had been having financial problems he would have talked to him.

"Why'd you get me?" he asked, slowly taking more steps. He definitely needed to get home to change and call the police. Once he was close enough Axel gripped his arm and began pulling him quickly through the hallways of a large house, leading him down a set of stairs until finally reaching the front door.

"Because Xigbar and Demyx are idiots," The redhead hissed, throwing the door open to reveal a dark sky, the faint trace of stars lingering in the deep indigo color. Roxas' eyes slowly adjusted to the outdoors as he was lead down the veranda steps and onto the lawn. The bareness of his feet finally being noticed when the cool grass pricked at his toes, contrasting against the heat of the night hugging his frame.

The roar of an engine caught the blonde's attention and his head shot up to spot a cherry red Porsche pulling up and the doors lifting skywards, revealing a happily smiling blonde and the eye patched man. They were both laughing and Roxas turned his gaze towards Axel. The redhead appeared to be fuming, his jaw clenched tight as he made his way towards the car. When he got to the driver's side, he tugged the blonde driver out violently and shook him by the shoulder.

"You dumbass, I don't see what the hell is so fucking funny," Roxas felt awkward standing on the lawn and the thought of running was seemed better and better the longer the redhead shouted at his companion. Roxas looked around, trying to see where exactly he was and trying to figure out which direction was best to run towards, only to be interrupted by a low voice.

"Don't even think about running away now tiger," The eye patched man was right beside the blonde and Roxas jumped backward, his heart jumping into his throat as a nervous laugh bubbled in his throat.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he responded lightly, his heart still pumping vast amounts of blood throughout his body. The man laughed before turning back towards the two arguing men. Roxas caught pieces of the argument as he gazed up towards the sky.

"Sora is not a blonde!"

"How was I supposed to know?

"Because I fucking told you Demyx!" So the blonde driver was named Demyx, meaning the eye patched man must have been Xigbar. "How am I going to explain this to Xemnas?" Roxas watched as the redhead pounded his fist against the hood of the car, his voice filled with agony. Slowly the red haired man straightened up and groaned loudly. Demyx simply laughed before speaking.

"You'll just have to tell him you're a lazy cunt who'd rather get drunk and sleep in, than work for him," the blonde seemed satisfied with his answer, though the redhead seemed far from pleased as he slapped the smirk off the blonde's face. Demyx pouted as he rubbed the sore spot on his cheek and Roxas felt a laugh almost break past his lips as he watched the scene unfold before him. They were the worst henchmen on the face of this planet.

"Get the kid into the car, I've got a shit load of lying to do," Roxas watched as Xigbar quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the car. If Roxas wouldn't have bent down, the man would have pushed him right into the car. It was a tight squeeze, made especially difficult with handcuffs though it was always tricky to get into a 2 door car.

Demyx was the first to speak when everyone was stuffed into the car, the heat really making itself known as sweat dripped down each of their faces, the sun rising off in the distance as they started speeding down the quiet, deserted roads. Roxas dully noted that there was not another house for miles and miles.

"I guess this means a road trip!" the blonde sitting in the passenger seat squealed and Roxas had to bite down on his swollen lip to stop from laughing out loud.

* * *

**A/N: **This was originally supposed to be a macabre little one-shot about a stalker who kidnapped his victim, then tortured and killed him, but some how it ended up nothing like that. It became a multi-chaptered fic about two twins, one getting kidnapped by accident and the mysterious life of the other twin slowly becoming revealed in the pursuit of finding him after he vanishes into thin air. I have no idea how it happened, but I really like how it's going so far.

Tell me if you're interested in more.

Ps. Disclaimer.

- Your friendly neighborhood Sharmander.


	2. The Search Begins

**Chapter Two**  
The Search Begins

"Here kid, wipe the blood off your face," Axel tossed a wet nap towards the blonde sitting in the back seat, as Demyx busily fiddled with the radio dials. The red head was watching the man intensely before slapping his hands away, a long, pale finger turning off the radio. Demyx seemed about to complain until the red head narrowed his eyes and pulled on a pair of sunglasses. Roxas watched the two curiously and blinked at the wet nap sitting in his lap.

"But…I'm handcuffed," Roxas said carefully, his nose scrunching both in confusion and to push his glasses back up. Axel eyed him from the rearview before realizing his mistake and laughing out loud to himself. Demyx muttered something about him still being drunk as he went for the radio dials again, making Xigbar snort before he reached for the wet nap in Roxas' lap. The blonde cringed into the seat; trying to get the dirty man's hand to only touch so much of him was hard. Finally, Xigbar grabbed the tiny package and tore it open before bursting out in giggles. Roxas' eyes widened as he watched the man nudge the blonde in the passenger seat. He had finally decided what they were going to listen to, and to Roxas it sounded like something with all bass and no music, the entire car's frame sort of vibrated with the rhythm.

"Dem, what does this look like?" The eye patched man asked the blonde as the man turned and stared at the open package. His blue eyes glistened as his smile widened across his face, his pearly white teeth a shock against his tan skin.

"Axel! Look at it, it looks like a condom wrapper!" he squealed before tossing his head back and laughing loudly. Through out all of this, Roxas sat there confused, simply staring at the open wet nap package not understanding what the two were laughing at. He really didn't see how it looked like a condom wrapper or even why that was funny. The redhead peered over his shoulder, and with a snort turned back to the road after seeing what exactly his two companions were laughing at.

"Both of you grow up. Xigbar, fucking wipe the poor kid's face," Axel sped up slightly, changing lanes before really pushing the gas pedal. Roxas watched as the scenery blurred by in a mixture of colors. He noticed Xigbar squirming towards him from the corner of his eye with the wet nap and he shrunk back against the seat. If they would simply uncuff him, he'd be able to do all of this by himself. They were in a moving car anyway, Roxas didn't see the point in the handcuffs.

"I'm not a kid…I have a name," Roxas said shakily, watching as the wet nap zoned onto his face. Xigbar was rough, pressing down against Roxas' soft skin and scrubbing as if he was polishing an old shoe. Roxas was sure his face was all red, and maybe even slightly more bruised than it was previously. It definitely felt more tender after the man pulled away, satisfied with his cleaning job. Roxas could only hope it was better than it felt.

"Really now, what is it?" Axel said, his eyes shielded by large, dark sunglasses. He had a wide smirk on his face, reminding Roxas of Freakazoid. The old theme song played through his mind, making him forget for a second about the citrusy smell under his nose and on his cheeks from where Xigbar had wiped. For a few seconds, he was back in his apartment with Sora and he was comfortable. Not on a hot leather seat in the back of a tiny Porsche as a hostage.

"Roxas," the blonde had to stop himself before he said his last name. He was so use to introducing himself using both, something about the formality attracted him to saying it time and time again. However, something told him it would be best not to use it this instance. He didn't want these maniacs knowing his full name, it would be too easy to find him once they were released from prison. "Where are we going? Can you take me to my apartment?" Roxas decided to change the subject from his name before anything could be said about it. It seemed to work just fine with everyone.

"We are going to my boss's house, in the _next_ city over." Axel glared at both Xigbar and Demyx as he said this, before looking at Roxas quickly "so no, I cannot take you back to your apartment." Roxas glared at him through the rearview mirror. He had to be taken to his apartment, that was really his only hope for survival.

"Why are you even taking me? I have _nothing _to do with this!" Roxas shouted angrily from his seat, Xigbar simply stared at him with a smile and Demyx looked at him apologetically before Axel got around to speaking. Roxas didn't know who to blame for his being here, it would easily be put on Demyx and Xigbar for grabbing the wrong person, or Axel for not being responsible, or even Sora for getting into this mess in the first place.

"I have to see what my boss thinks I should do. We can't just let you go, especially since you know we're hunting down your twin," Axel chuckled at the absurdity of the very idea. As if actually setting Roxas free was humorous. The blonde didn't see anything funny at all about this situation, in fact he was just about ready to cry.

"How about…afterwards? I'll need to get clothes to help you find Sora!" Roxas tried to bargain with the man. He was lying, but that was information only he knew. The redhead had no idea of his plans to actually inform the police, so tricking him would be easy. He could simply say he wanted to find Sora too, anything to give him a legitimate reason for going to his apartment. Though he knew somehow that they wouldn't ask, they didn't seem to be the caring type.

"Afterwards isn't now. So shut up and sit still, we've got a long way to go." With that the conversation was cut short, any questions or anything else was stopped before it even had the chance to blossom. Roxas was furious and he wished he could cross his arms. The ache in his shoulders reminded him that no, he wouldn't be able to do that for a while.

**...**

The sun was high in the sky when Axel parked in a tiny plaza, they where…_somewhere,_ Roxas figured as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. At some point during the long drive he had fallen asleep. Now he had woken up just in time, the heat was at its peak and the car felt like an Easy Bake oven. Roxas could feel the sweat rolling down his temples almost steadily, a fact that disgusted him and made him wish more than anything for a nice cool shower. The eye patched man was fanning himself with a paper, the bandana around his neck dark with perspiration, making Roxas wonder why he still had it on. Surely it was only making him warmer than he already was. The blonde that was seated in the front was sipping from a water bottle, seeming content as could be. The clear liquid in the glass bottle reminded Roxas painfully of his dry throat as he tried to swallow.

"Could I please have some water?" Roxas said, his voice sounded thin and breathy. He had never been so thirsty before in his life and watching the condensation on the green bottle was not helping. His throat worked furiously around the dryness and his tongue moved across his lips trying in vain to moisten them. Demyx's eyes widened as he tugged the straw from his lips with an audible pop, wiping at his mouth before looking down at Roxas' pale, chapped lips.

"Oh my god, you must be dehydrated! You poor child," Demyx leaned towards the back, holding the glistening bottle to Roxas' lips, letting the blonde catch the straw between his teeth and take as many long swallows as he possibly could. The water tasted like a gift from Olympus as it ran down Roxas' parched throat. Demyx simply watched him with a smile as he gulped down the water.

Finally he pulled away to breathe, his lips once again moist, began to sting as the numerous cuts made themselves known. That didn't bother Roxas though; he was simply content to have his mouth moist and water in his stomach. It was already starting to ache with hunger, and he definitely didn't need a hunger migraine on top of a vase-to-the-head ache. "Thanks," he said, his normal voice finally showing shyly underneath the rasp. Roxas cleared his throat carefully and the other blonde just smiled, waving it off.

"Don't mention it. You looked parched!" Demyx laughed as the car pulled to a stop and Axel unlocked his door.

"You all stay in here, I'm going to get food and come right back. Both of you keep an eye on him, don't fuck up again." And with that, the redhead slipped out of the car.

A few people stood by to watch him as he gracefully climbed out of the red and black sports car, his vibrant hair matching perfectly with the pain job. Not to mention he was exceedingly gorgeous. Roxas came to the conclusion, using the rear view mirror and millions of tiny glances, with a lot of reluctance. In all honesty he was shocked with himself. How could he be thinking about his kidnapper's looks, when this man was out hunting for his brother and holding him hostage? He didn't want to think of Axel and his flat chest, tightly covered by his white wife beater, or his long, lean legs that were hugged by tight, leather pants. Behind what most medical experts would classify as attraction, Roxas wondered how Axel could stand the heat. He knew for sure that the people were watching because an attractive man coming out of an equally attractive car mustn't have been an everyday thing in this one horse town, or that was his guess.

Roxas tried glancing out the front windows, seeing as the tiny back ones were tinted black and it was hard to see. Outside was nothing but empty land, a few scattered houses around the cluster that was this plaza. It was probably their downtown. Judging by the way it looked, with a few stores and most of the town's populace accumulated here, it was almost certain that this was the town's center. Roxas watched as a few people walked around, shopping bags in their hands as they chatted happily about whatever. The blonde wanted to scream for help, but something told him to go against that. He didn't want to do anything that would steer him off the course that would lead him to his apartment.

It didn't take Axel very long in reality, but to Roxas it felt like years before the redhead came back into view. He stood out quite a lot amongst the quiet town's people. A hoard of young girls stood huddled on a street corner, each drooling in awe as the man strode towards his car, looking like a movie star. Roxas looked at all the girls, rolling his eyes at their stupidity as Axel climbed in. If only they knew they were ogling at some kidnapping, mafia murderer. Axel seated himself comfortably before handing all of them their food, or well, except for Roxas and started the car. Demyx seemed to have noticed the fan girls and pointed it out to the redhead with a laugh as he unwrapped his hamburger. Amongst the joke Roxas' attention was caught by the man's words.

"Seems kind of ironic, doesn't it?" Demyx chortled and Axel swatted him across the head from his seat. Xigbar chose that moment to laugh loudly, choking on the drink that had been passed back to him. Axel stopped at a light and turned, dropping a paper bag onto Roxas' lap. The redhead smiled at the blonde through the rear view mirror.

"I guess Xiggy will have to feed you," The man seemed to find this fact hilarious as he sped down the street and out of the quiet town. The large blue sign was an indication that they had now left and were only a few hundred kilometers from the next stop. Roxas hoped to God the name he read on the sign was a City's name. It seemed familiar enough, though in the back of his mind, a dark knowledge let him know he was very far from home.

"Here, lemme hold your burger first. We'll take turns," The eye patched man reached into Roxas' paper bag and pulled out a neatly wrapped cheeseburger. Roxas eyed it, before deciding he'd rather eat from this idiot's hand than starve. He took more than half of the burger with his first bite, almost choking as he chewed the dry bread into small enough pieces to swallow. Xigbar laughed before placing the food down and reaching towards his own, taking just a big a bite as Roxas, if not bigger.

Each of the men where finished in a matter of minutes, the only sound being that of liquid traveling through their straws. Xigbar had to hold Roxas' soda to his mouth for him to drink, and as humiliating as it was, the cold fluid helped the ache in his head and made him feel better. The eye patched man, ignoring the red head's protests and shouts threw his trash out the window, the wind carrying it God knows where. Axel groaned, before looking at Xigbar over his shoulder. "Why'd you do that for?" he asked angrily and the man just laughed with a shrug.

"Sorry mother nature if I offended you," Xigbar teased, a smirk on his face when Axel gave him the finger. Demyx simply yawned, announcing that he was tried and that everyone needed to shut up.

Now the entire car was quiet, at some point Xigbar and Demyx had both passed out, leaving only Axel and Roxas awake. For some reason or another, the blonde felt awkward sitting in silence, though Axel didn't seem at all bothered. Roxas cleared his throat before speaking. "Why…do you want my twin?" he asked and Axel tilted his head up, Roxas' only indication that he was looking at him through the mirror.

"I already told you. He owes my boss quite the sum, so we were going to take him back to the base and remind him to pay. Instead…we ended up with you," Axel added the last part with a groan, his hands tightening on the steering wheel for a second before his whole frame relaxed and he looked back at Roxas. One of his fine eyebrows arched high on his forehead, the smirk on his face made the expression very suggestive despite the large sunglasses. "Could have been worse though, at least we've got some eye candy with you," Axel laughed as Roxas' cheeks slowly turned from pale to a flaming red. The blonde's already large eyes going even rounder as he quickly turned his head and looked away from the rear view mirror. Axel chuckled before focusing back on the road.

"Shut up," the blonde tried to push the blush off his face, definitely not wanting his aggressor to see that side of him. He doubted anyone wanted the person who kidnapped them to see them blushing or anything of the sort. That sort of face just wasn't meant for these types of situations. "But…_why_ does he owe your boss money?" Roxas got back on track quickly, though his stomach still felt slightly off and his cheeks were much warmer than they should have been, even if it was sweltering outside.

"Look, I don't even know if I should be talking with you about this stuff. It might cost you your life kid, so just be quiet until I've spoken to my boss. Unless you wanna talk about the weather or something," Axel fixed his eyes on the road, and it was Roxas sign that he was very serious about what he was saying. The blonde wanted to ask questions though, there were just too many to simply ignore. He wanted to know why his brother owed money, and just how much did he owe? Along with those questions there were many more, like who exactly did he owe money to and just what type of person was Axel's boss? Roxas wanted to know the answer to each and every one, but the finality in the redhead's voice made sure he wouldn't.

"I'm not a _kid_," Roxas said instead of pushing his luck with questions and Axel laughed before apologizing with a shrug. The blonde glared at the back of Axel's seat. How dare he call Roxas a kid? He was twenty-one for Christ's sake. He had definitely passed the point of being referred to as 'kid'; he was now in the zone for a 'mister' or even a 'sir'.

"Just how old are you? I'm guessing twenty-one, right?" The redhead smirked widely when he saw Roxas peek at him through the rear view mirror. The blonde's shock quite evident on his face, and Axel enjoyed every second of it. He laughed happily and waited for Roxas' question. He knew it was coming; it was only natural to ask how he had guessed his age correctly.

"How did you know?" The blonde said, trying to get a better look at Axel's face, but those damned sunglasses covered nearly everything. Roxas was confused as to how Axel had known his age, because clearly the redhead didn't think he was very old if he had been calling him kid. Or that could just be because Axel was a lot older than Roxas, though that didn't seem to be the case. The redhead was very physically fit, and clearly fairly young.

"I know your twin, so obviously I know how old you are," Axel's smirk turned into a huge grin as more questions presented themselves to Roxas. The blonde knew Axel mustn't have been a friend of his brother's or else he definitely would have seen him before, and he wasn't from any of their schools. Roxas really had no clue how Axel could know his twin, and the confusion clearly showed on his face. "You seem surprised," Axel chuckled when Roxas unwittingly nodded.

"I was just sure I knew all of Sora's friends," Roxas admitted and Axel just laughed harder, changing lanes and going even faster than before. Roxas' heart did a little jump as the car's speed grew, the other cars zipping past them as they covered quite a lot of distance.

"Clearly not, little man," Axel again was watching Roxas through the rear view and just the knowledge of those jade eyes on his frame made Roxas uncomfortable. _"What could Axel be thinking?" _he thought over and over, and hard as he tried to focus on their conversation his mind went back to that, though he wasn't sure why.

"Are you sure you're a friend? Doesn't seem that way to me," many friendships were different, and people had many views on what friendships are like, but one thing was obvious about all friends. They would never kidnap you, or take you anywhere against your will and beat you. Roxas was more than sure about that.

"I'm sure," was the only answer Axel gave before he went quiet and continued driving. Slowly Roxas watched more and more buildings come into view, the out skirts of the city a familiar sight to the blonde, considering he was born and raised in a city himself. He watched as they drove onto a street, filled with people, millions more than the town they had encountered only a few hours earlier.

Quickly though they exited the busy streets and moved gracefully onto more residential streets, and quieter neighborhoods. The houses were all huge and fairly spaced apart, most hidden behind many trees and bushes or fences. Roxas watched in awe as they slowly drove by each giant manor, before finally stopping in front of a large, pristine mansion. The entire house was white, making it look like an ancient Greek temple. The large pillars all aligned on the front also helped complete the look, along with the beautiful fountain out front. The Porsche pulled to a complete stop at the bottom of large stone steps, Roxas being pulled out of the back by a groggy Xigbar. He had woken up only minutes before arriving, so his handling of Roxas was slightly rougher than usual, though Roxas didn't know for sure if that was the reason, or even what the usual way was.

Axel was already half way up, urging the others to hurry before bounding up the rest of the steps. "Come on, I don't have all day. I have to get looking for that little brat," Axel sounded annoyed and Roxas scowled at him, glad that once he was taken back to his apartment he would be calling the police on him. Maybe the men in prison could teach Axel a thing or two. This was when Roxas finally caught a glimpse of the tiny tear drop tattoos adorning the man's cheeks, and slowly he re-evaluated the coward he thought Axel was. One had to admit, it took an awful lot of balls to get a facial tattoo.

Xigbar yawned hugely as he trudged up the stairs, hauling Roxas along behind him. Finally when they were all together at the door, the redhead knocked and they all stood waiting anxiously. Roxas though, felt as if he was the most nervous. This was his first time meeting the man, and this man wanted to kill his twin brother. Or so it seemed that way. "Roxas be quiet and do not speak unless spoken to," for once it was Demyx giving the small blonde an order and Roxas nodded though he didn't know why. He could damn well start singing if he wanted to, though the blonde knew it was never going to happen. He just didn't have enough guts to do that sort of thing. "Let's hope he's in a good mood. That way we won't get lectured."

The large doors swung open and in front of them stood a man so huge he blocked almost the entire entrance. Roxas stared with wide eyes as they all made their way past him and into the large, brightly lit house. Everything inside the mansion was white as well, the walls, the furniture and even the chandelier hanging above the large, white spiraling staircase. Stare in awe was all the tiny blonde could do as the large brunette led them towards the stairs. "Xemnas is waiting for you," Axel smiled at the man, all white teeth and charisma before patting him on his large shoulder. Roxas was amazed at the size of the man and wondered just what he was doing at the house. His thought however was interrupted by a loud, booming voice from the top of the staircase.

"Axel, you've finally arrived...Demyx and Xigbar, what are you doing here?" The voice bounced off the walls and surrounded the guests of the house. Axel nodded his head as Xigbar and Demyx slowly tried to worm their way out of the foyer. The man however stopped them, his eyes narrowing as he told them to stay where they were. He climbed down the stairs with an elegance Roxas had never seen before; he appeared to almost be floating over every step, his hair shinning like silver satin under the lights.

"We came here with Axel," Xigbar answered, jutting his thumb in the direction the redhead was standing. Axel sent him a glare before turning to look back at Xemnas as the man finally stood in front of the group.

When Roxas and the man were finally face to face, the blonde realized that the man had incredibly light, hazel eyes and dark olive skin. His eyes almost appeared yellow, and the look of them sent chills along Roxas' spine. Again the question of how his brother knew these people popped up in his mind. "I see...and you've brought along a guest," the man chuckled, before crossing his arms. His suit was all white, except for his tie and the handkerchief he wore in his breast pocket, those were both black, along with his leather shoes. Roxas didn't know exactly what to make of the man. He didn't seem like some street thug, nor did he seem like your every day business man. There was something about him that made Roxas uneasy and fearful. It was almost as if the man had a certain aura about him that demanded respect, or fear or maybe even both. Whatever it was, it made Roxas nervous to think of his brother dealing with such people.

"Though…it's not the one I was expecting," the man continued and Roxas felt those yellow eyes do a quick sweep of his disheveled appearance. Axel chuckled from his spot along side Roxas and the blonde could already sense the lies the redhead was about to tell. Though, Roxas only knew the red head was lying because the man had said he was going to. To anyone else looking, Axel seemed cool as a cucumber.

"This is Sora's twin brother…Roxas," Axel nudged Roxas forward and the blonde took a stumbling step towards the man. The silver haired man stepped down from the last stair and stood directly before Roxas, making the blonde feel tiny and insignificant. He was rather tall as well, and at this point in time, Roxas realized he was the smallest one in the room, quite possibly in the entire house.

"And why is he here and not Sora?"

"I went to search for him" there's the lying "but I didn't find him anywhere, so I got his twin instead," Axel seemed ashamed to be admitting that he didn't find Sora, though why he even lied about going was beyond Roxas, maybe it was because finding his brother after all was Axel's job and even if it was done incorrectly, he still had to do it himself. That would always look better than getting someone else to do your work for you. The silver haired man listened quietly, Roxas half expected him to start screaming at any second but instead he just raised an eyebrow high onto his forehead. "Don't worry though Xemnas, I have a plan."

Xemnas, so this was the man Axel had been worried about speaking to. That fact seemed more than obvious now though and Roxas felt silly for over looking it. Then what the redhead finally said sunk in and Roxas turned to look at him. Axel had a plan? It appeared that everyone else in the room was also curious and the redhead laughed before shooting off into the explanation of his plan. "I'm going to use Roxas to help me find Sora. They are twins after all, so, Roxas must know his brother's whereabouts and if that doesn't work, I'll use him as bait…that is, if you still want me to," Roxas blinked owlishly when Xemnas' eyes landed on him and he felt like hiding behind someone though there was no one.

"Really now? And he's accepted this?" Xemnas seemed skeptical as he stared at Roxas and Axel laughed loudly before gripping the blonde's shoulder in a painful hold. It was very tight and Roxas leaned over trying to ease the man's grip, his face scrunching in pain.

"He doesn't really have a choice." With that all the men in the room laughed, _except_ for Roxas.

"Very well then…I don't have to tell you that I expect this to be the last time this happens, correct?" Axel nodded his head as Xemnas stared at them, the man then turned and made his way back up the steps. Before fully leaving them though, he turned and eyed all of them. "And Axel I have to speak with you. Please, do remember that I want Sora alive, he does in fact still owe me my money. As for the twin, I don't really care, though I'd prefer you leave him alive as well. It is always such a hassle to deal with deaths."

* * *

**A/N: **What a lovely summer day it is outside, though I could do without the sweltering temperatures.  
Hopefully the A/C will be put in my room soon o_o

Anyway, onward to the story! The second chapter is where we meet Xemnas, or get a glimpse at him. He's pretty chill in this chapter, no reason for him to fly off the handle anyway.

A special guest shall appear in the next chapter, come on ladies and gents, guess who 8D !  
You'll probably all get it anyway xD

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this addition to Just Between Us!  
Tune in next time, to see what happens!


	3. I Guess It's Plan B Then

**Chapter Three**  
I Guess It's Plan B Then

Roxas was beginning to lose all sensitivity in his arms. He had been led to some meeting room in Xemnas' mansion to wait for Axel while he did some important _'stuff',_ as he called it. Roxas couldn't care less where the redhead went because it wasn't in the direction of his apartment. He gazed around the white room he was in, his blue eyes scanning the walls and everything else. There was a large white marble table that seemed to grow right out of the floor. The table's chairs were obviously white and very large; the back rests shooting up high above Roxas' head. There was one chair at the head of the table with red cushions and the highest, most elaborate backrest, intricate designs all stood out, delicately carved into the chair. The blonde figured that was Xemnas' seating spot during meetings.

The true purpose of his gazing was to find any form of exit. The room's white walls however indicated no where he could possibly escape from, except the main door which he had come in through. That was immediately out of the question, not only because he was sure they had locked him in, but because Lexaeus (the huge beast of a man who he had met upon first entering the house) was standing guard of the door. Roxas sighed in defeat, there was no way someone as physically and emotionally unfit as he was could ever escape. The handcuffs were the biggest problem, mostly because they were starting to dig into his tender wrists. The second problem was that if he did manage to remove the handcuffs, how would he fend off all these men and make a run for it? Not only was he sure that would never _ever_ happen, but even if it did, where the hell would he go? He had no idea where he was and he was definitely not going to run to the neighbors for help. For all he knew, they could be in on the whole Xemnas mafia thing.

Awkwardly, Roxas rested his forehead against the cold table top. At least Xemnas wasn't cheap and had the air conditioning on. He didn't have to have it so high though. The arctic breeze blowing out of the vents had long ago cooled Roxas down from the outside heat, and now he was close to shivering. The position he had gotten himself in was starting to hurt his neck, and he sat up again feeling restless. How could he just sit there doing nothing? He was really pathetic. The thought that he had fought Demyx and Xigbar somewhat comforted him even if he couldn't remember any of it. Well, he had tried, and look where he ended up. Handcuffed, in some mobster's house, waiting for some damned kidnapper to come back so they could go _'search'_ for his brother. It was better if he just sat still. That had gotten him through those painful years of high school and college. He could keep it up, he could sit uselessly for a while longer.

The door burst open and Axel strode in, his hand already reaching for the blonde's bicep to heave him up to his feet. Roxas beat him to it however and stood without assistance. His heated glare was directed at Axel and when the redhead saw the blonde's face, he burst out laughing, ruffling Roxas' hair. "Don't look at me like that kid, it's not my fault your twin's a little shit."

"Don't talk about Sora that way!" Roxas shouted and Axel lifted his hands in mock surrender, before finally gripping onto Roxas and tugging him out of the meeting room. The blonde put up some resistance, his legs stiff and heavy as lead while the redhead tried to drag him outside. Axel finally gave up and stopped, turning to face Roxas with a look that screamed unhappiness.

"What the hell are you doing? Let's go!" Axel hissed, tugging hard enough to make Roxas stumble into him. With a push the blonde was back in his own space and Axel was walking again, dragging the blonde behind himself. Finally Roxas gave up and tried to tug his arm out of Axel's grip.

"I can walk by myself," Roxas mumbled causing Axel to turn and look at him with a raised eyebrow. With a shrug he released Roxas' arm and let the blonde walk a few paces in front of him. The click of a gun had Roxas swirling around staring with wide, horror filled eyes as Axel pointed a sleek, black, hand gun directly at the blonde's head.

"Well…walk," Axel's voice was low, but it wasn't hard to hear it in the quiet house and Roxas stared at him, his throat going dry as the redhead closed the gap between them with a few smooth strides, and pressed the gun to the blonde's forehead. Roxas felt his knees starting to shake, his entire frame following as Axel lowered his lips to the blonde's ear. Roxas' heart was pounding, he could barely breathe. "Bang," the hot whisper sounded more like a shout and Roxas collapsed, his knees giving out on him causing him to fall awkwardly with his arms behind his back, his glasses sliding off his face and onto the floor. Axel seemed to find this hilarious as he stuffed the gun back in it's place and kneeled beside Roxas, picking up the man's glasses as he did so. The redhead was laughing loudly, his bright green eyes shinning with mirth.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Roxas screamed, wiggling away from Axel on the smooth floor. The redhead stood and dusted off his knees before looking down at Roxas. The blonde was still squirming, trying to stand up again without using his hands to push himself up. He had little success though, mostly because he was trembling so much it was impossible to keep balance. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?...STOP IT, STOP LAUGHING!" Roxas was shaking on the floor like a leaf, staring at Axel with angry blue eyes yet all the redhead did was laugh even more.

"Just wanted to establish the fact that I have a gun, so if you should try anything…like _running_, I could just shoot you without breaking a sweat. So we're clear, right?" Axel rested his hands on his hips as he waited and _waited_ for Roxas to heave himself up. The blonde however was doing nothing but working up a sweat and humiliating himself the more he wriggled around uselessly like a worm on a scorching sidewalk.

Finally he gave up, lying there panting and just staring out at nothing before moving his gaze towards Axel. "I can't do it…" his voice sounded defeated and still quite angry. He was furious that Axel would scare him like that, what kind of person would do something that horrible to someone else? It was a terrifying experience Roxas was sure he never wanted to live through again. He had never even seen a gun in person until now, and he had been planning on never seeing one in his life. The defeat was because he was finally accepting how useless he really was in this kidnapped situation; there was no way he would get away from Axel. He was nothing close to heroic, like those actors in the movies, escaping all those villains with such ease. Roxas had thought that before without even seeing the gun, now though, he knew it was a fact. He'd have to rely on his apartment plan to escape.

Axel heaved him up, the man's fingers digging into Roxas soft flesh making him whine as he was pulled to his feet. The redhead gave him a look, as if saying _'really? I didn't even grab you hard'_ before shaking his head and pushing the glasses back onto Roxas' face for him. Finally standing again Roxas felt a little less pathetic; at least he wasn't squirming at Axel's feet anymore. The redhead looked at him, a tiny smirk on his lips as he regarded the blonde. Roxas did not look amused at all, instead he stood there glaring at Axel with a look that told him he seriously wanted the red head 6 feet under. "Want me to uncuff you?" Axel asked slowly and Roxas considered it. If Axel was going to uncuff him, then it meant that the redhead was sure he wouldn't get away, which meant that he really would shoot him if need be. Roxas decided he didn't need any bullet wounds…or death for that matter.

"Yes," Axel searched through his pockets, finally finding the set of keys he was searching for and turning Roxas around, unlocking the handcuffs and taking them off. The relief that came with being able to move his arms was indescribable, the tiny pins and needles feeling from before came back full force, spreading from his shoulders to the tips of his fingers. The blonde tentatively flexed his arm muscles, slowly getting the aching to reside yet not fully disappear. Axel watched all this before finally deciding it was time to leave.

"Well hurry up then…you said something about going to your apartment?" The redhead was already pulling open the large house door, Roxas scurrying quickly behind him as he heard Lexaeus coming to shut and lock it. The blonde figured he'd have to tell Axel his address when they got into the car and that unnerved him. Did he really want Axel knowing where he lived? He could easily give him the directions to his parents house, but then…what would happen? Axel could simply shoot them all and dispose of their bodies. Xemnas had made it seem easy enough, with his loose way of speaking of death, calling it a _'hassle'_. Roxas didn't want his parents involved, and he wanted them dead even less. So instead he shut his mouth and followed the redhead out of the house. Once both men were outside they spotted Demyx and Xigbar, both of them leaning against a black car and appeared to be waiting for Axel.

"So, what did the man tell yah?" Xigbar was the first to speak as Axel quickly climbed down the steps, Roxas finally having control of his arms was able to walk down alone. Demyx spotted him and rushed over, patting him on the back as if they were long time friends.

"Awesome! No handcuffs," The blonde's grin was happy and friendly, but Roxas' scowl was not. He shrugged away the man's hand and glared with all his strength, making Demyx shrivel away and pout at him. "Hey, what did I do?" he asked sadly, making Roxas snort before crossing his arms like he had wanted to do so many times. It hurt his shoulders to hold them there, but he figured he could stand a little pain if it meant showing this fail-kidnapper that he hated him.

"You cracked a vase over my head and kidnapped me," Roxas really didn't think he'd have to explain his dislike for these men, clearly he had been mistaken. Demyx looked rejected and turned, sulkily walking back to where the other two were standing. Axel shot Roxas a look before patting Demyx once he was close enough, the loud laughter came from Xigbar and if you looked close enough, the redhead's lips were twitching in an attempt to stay sealed.

"Of course he's gonna hate you, you idiot!" Xigbar was cracking up and Demyx swatted at him, trying to hit him from beside Axel before giving up and lunging directly at the man. Axel stood watching as they wrestled on the car's hood, Demyx trying to slap Xigbar and the man holding the blonde's wrists, rendering any attack useless.

"I've gotta get going now. I have to drive Roxas all the way back to his apartment," Axel sounded annoyed as he turned to stare at Roxas, the blonde sulking by himself a few steps away. The redhead made a gun with his hands and pretended to fire a shot which only served to anger Roxas, making him send them all the middle finger. Axel laughed before waving goodbye and heading towards his car, Roxas quickly following now that they were finally moving and going to where he wanted to go. "The only reason we're going is for you to shower and pack a few things. Everything I'll need, I got."

"Okay." Roxas climbed into the car's passenger seat and half expected to be kicked out and forced into the back. When Axel moved towards the driver's side without saying anything the blonde buckled his seatbelt, settling in for a long drive. "You'll need my address right?" The blonde asked when Axel was seated and starting the car, instead of the nod he had been expecting, Axel shook his head. "What? How do you know where I live?"

"Again, I know your twin. I know where he lives…or lived. Did you think I was lying when I said I knew him?" Axel looked at Roxas as he slid on his sunglasses again. The sun was still high in the sky, its heat burning everything within reach. Roxas could feel his skin slowly roasting through the car's windows.

Roxas didn't answer, instead he turned and looked outside. The truth was that he really did think Axel was lying about knowing Sora. The blonde knew everything about his twin, he had met everyone Sora associated with and never in his life had he seen Axel, or any of these people for that matter. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that he was being silly not believing Axel because clearly, the redhead knew his twin. He knew their address, their age, and probably a few other important things. Yet, despite that Roxas just didn't want to accept it. He had trusted Sora with everything, he didn't want to think that his twin hadn't done the same.

He was sure it would crush him.

**...**

Again at some point Roxas had fallen asleep, but before opening his eyes and showing signs of being awake he was stalled by the sound of Axel's voice. The redhead was speaking, though to whom Roxas wasn't sure. All he could hope was that it wasn't to himself. That was the last thing he needed. A schizophrenic kidnapper. Deciding he could probably find out with a little eaves dropping, the blonde pretended to sleep and listened in on the man's conversation.

"I've never had to drive back and forth so many fucking times," the redhead was complaining, Roxas could already imagine the deep scowl on his face as he spoke, his eyebrows furrowed as he drove with those ridiculous sunglasses on. "Riku, shut up. Are you gonna meet me somewhere or what?" That caught Roxas' interest and he tried to lean closer to hear better, to see if he could hear the person on the other end too. The person's voice was soft as it exited the receiver and muffled against the redhead's ear, so understanding anything they were saying was impossible. "I'll be at Sora's apartment, you know the one right? Hah, of course you do. How many times have you had to sneak out of the window?" Axel laughed loudly, the person on the phone's voice raising as well until it dropped back to its regular volume. Axel was still chuckling lightly. "Alright, alright, don't have a cow. I'll see you soon buddy," with that the call was over and Axel dropped the phone beside him. The car was engulfed in silence and if Roxas hadn't of slept so much, he probably would have dozed off again. Instead he decided to _'wake up'_.

"What time is it?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound as groggy as possible. It wasn't that hard to do, considering he had really been asleep before. Axel tilted his head in Roxas' direction before smirking.

"It's on the dashboard," the redhead replied and Roxas blushed before checking the time himself. He wasn't sure what time they had left Xemnas' house or even what time they arrived, but it was now almost 5 PM. The sun hadn't gone down though, it wasn't even close to leaving its post in the sky.

"How did you meet Sora?" Roxas asked after a few minutes of silence. Even if he didn't believe a single word the redhead was telling him, he wanted to ask anyway. A large part of him was holding on to the idea that this was all a misunderstanding and the Sora they were searching for wasn't his twin. It was a silly idea, but still, Roxas preferred it over the supposed truth.

"Well it's a long story, but you know what they do with long stories?" Axel asked and Roxas shook his head, raising a light eyebrow high on his forehead when Axel shot him a tiny grin. "They make it short!" the redhead started laughing, and Roxas had to resist the urge to smack himself on the forehead. This was not the time for lame jokes. Soon the redhead composed himself and continued, "Well, I met him months ago. I don't remember. I hardly remember anything but that's what you get in Vegas."

Roxas had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Sora had gone on a trip to Las Vegas after a promotion at work. The brunette had insisted that he wanted to go alone, leaving Roxas and his girlfriend Kairi behind. No one knew why, but then again, no one ever knew why with Sora. The idea that this was the wrong Sora, and that Axel didn't really know his twin seemed less and less likely the more Roxas found out. Not that it was very believable in the first place. "So, you met him in Las Vegas…but how did all _this_ end up happening?"

The redhead stopped for a few moments before shrugging his broad shoulders. "Listen, when we find Sora, you can ask him yourself. I'm just supposed to find him and take him to Xemnas," the conversation slowly died down to nothing after that. Roxas didn't really feel like speaking unless it was asking questions, and Axel made it clear that he wasn't going to be answering anything anymore. So, Roxas watched the scenery until he realized that it was his neighborhood and he could already pick out the familiar things, like the grocery store and the bus stop that was only a few minutes away from his apartment. The large building finally came into view and Roxas felt a sweet relief washing over himself. Soon he would be free and all this craziness would be over.

Axel parked the car in front of the complex, and Roxas climbed out, surprised by the sound of two car doors shutting instead of one. When he looked back, he spotted Axel following him out of the car and up the front steps into the lobby. "You didn't think I was going to let you go alone, did you?" Axel asked with a smirk and Roxas blushed before pushing the button for the elevator. This was fine, Axel could come, it wouldn't effect his plans at all. He could still call the police, from the bathroom or something. He just needed to get the cordless phone before it was too late.

"Roxas? Is that you?" the familiar voice of his old neighbor comforted Roxas and he turned to smile at the little old woman who lived at the end of the hall. He waved happily at her, for a second forgetting about Axel climbing up the steps and believing that he was simply coming home from work. When the woman's facial expression changed to surprise, Roxas remembered the tall redhead behind him. "Oh, who's this?" she asked softly with a friendly smile and Axel tugged Roxas back against his side, the blonde was about to struggle when the feeling of cold metal pressed into his lower back, he froze as Axel stood beside him, appearing to be holding the blonde by the waist.

"I'm Lea, Roxas' boyfriend," Axel said, a huge grin spreading across his face when the woman's eyes went round, before she looked at Roxas.

"Oh…well then…it's a pleasure to meet you…" with a tiny wave she disappeared back into her apartment and Roxas jumped away from Axel. The shock and disgust was clear on the blonde's face, the amusement was very clear on the redhead's.

"Why would you say that? What is wrong with you?" the blonde was seething and Axel just chuckled before pushing Roxas towards his door.

"Enough damn questions and open the fucking door," Roxas was about to complain until he remembered the cold steel in Axel's hand and instead went to reach for his pocket, only to find that he was still in his pajama pants and sleeping shirt. He turned slowly to face the redhead and the man looked at him, asking with his eyes why the door wasn't open yet.

"I don't have keys…" Roxas replied to the silent question and the man groaned before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a switch blade. Great, another thing to be worried about, thought Roxas seeing the blade glint in the light of the hallway. The redhead quickly got to work, the door clicking open in a matter of mere minutes. Roxas stared in amazement as his door was pushed ajar by Axel as he strode right inside. The blonde followed at a slower pace, almost not believing that he was back in his own apartment. Quickly he turned and went to get his cordless phone before Axel spotted him but the cradle was empty. Confusion washed over Roxas until he saw the redhead emerge from his bedroom with his cordless phone and his cell phone.

"I knew you'd have these somewhere," The redhead dropped the phones onto the floor and Roxas watched as they hit with a loud thump. He was about to lunge at them when Axel pulled his gun out, reaching back into his pocket and pulling out another piece. This one was cylinder and not a gun but an attachment. Quickly Roxas realized what it was and even more fear filled his gut. Not only did Axel have a switch blade and a gun, but he had a damn silencer. The man was a walking arsenal. The redhead aimed the gun down towards the floor and shot once. It was aimed at the cordless, shattering the phone into pieces, all of which flew in different directions. The cell phone sat on the floor and Roxas eyed it, considering the odds of him grabbing it against the odds of Axel beating him to it, in his head. Before he had a chance to decide what to do, the man was stomping down on the thin cell phone, crushing it under his boot. "There, that's taken care of. Go on, you can go pack now."

Roxas walked to his room feeling numb, not quite believeing just what had happened. He should have known something like that would happen though. It was obvious Axel wasn't going to let him escape, he needed Roxas to find Sora. The blonde felt like sobbing for the first time since waking up in that creepy room, chained to the bed. He had thought arriving at his apartment would save him, he thought he was going to escape. Clearly that was not going to happen and now his only hope of survival was to go along with what the redheaded man wanted. Until the opportune moment of escaping came up that is. Roxas figured he could wait for it, he was patient. With that thought in his head, he pulled a duffle bag out from under his bed and began throwing various things into it. Mostly clothes and his travel pack of toiletries. He didn't really know why he had one, he never traveled but now he felt like laughing. He had bought this to go on vacation with Sora, now he was taking it with him to hunt his brother down.

When he was done, Roxas dragged the bag out into the living room only to find Axel staring at various pictures that were hung on the wall. "Hey Roxas, who's the broad with your brother?" the blonde turned to see which picture Axel was talking about and saw he was looking at one with Sora and Kairi standing together at his cousin Xion's wedding.

"That's his girlfriend," Roxas responded as if it was obvious and Axel burst out laughing. Roxas didn't understand the joke and he simply stared as Axel continued his insistent laughing. Finally the man calmed down and straightened.

"Man, Riku's just going to love this."

* * *

**A/N:** Don't stop me now! I'm on a roll!

With summer comes inspirtation, I guess 8D  
Thank you Global Warming for ending spring early...NOT!  
I personally prefer spring...

Anyway, here is the next installment to Just Between Us!  
A little more info on Sora and uhm...I lied, the special character _ACTUALLY_ comes in the next chapter xD  
At least you all know it's Riku lol.  
No surprise there.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this!  
Tune in next time, for more Just Between Us!


	4. Las Vegas Secrets

**Chapter Four**  
Las Vegas Secrets

After Roxas showered, with Axel sitting in front of the bathroom the whole time of course, the redhead informed him that they had to wait for a friend. Axel told the blonde they'd be waiting, but Roxas never imagined the wait to last this long. It had been at least an hour if not more that Axel had called this man known as "Riku". The redhead himself seemed to be getting impatient, his left knee was bobbing constantly, giving Roxas something to concentrate on, rather than the fact that Axel had the gun in his lap and the switchblade dancing between his fingers. Roxas, clumsy as he was, had never been able to roll objects in-between his digits, and he'd never realized how it was usually criminals or villains who did those things. At least it seemed that way in the movies he watched. It was always the bad guy with a coin, saying his monologue of evil and such things.

"Riku is such a fucking idiot," Axel tossed himself onto the backrest of the couch, his body bouncing and jolting Roxas from his comfortable little nook. The blonde glared viciously at the man, though his look of poison went unnoticed by Axel as he continued twirling that God forsaken knife in his hand. Roxas didn't really much care what they were waiting for, he just wanted to get a move on again. He needed to find Sora because honestly, this was all too much for him. He was used to routine, quiet mornings and even quieter evenings. Sora was the one usually out and about, always ready for an adventure. Roxas had always been the calmer of the two. The blonde did not need to be trekking it across the country in search for his insane brother. Even less did he want to do this with some psychotic hit man and his assistant. All of Axel's comrades had been idiots, so Roxas was not too enthused to meet this new one.

"How long has it been?" It had been quite a while since Roxas spoke and his voice seemed to startle the hit man. Axel's body twitched slightly, and if Roxas thought about it, he would have realized it was a frightened little jump but he let it slide. All the man got as a response was Axel lifting his shoulders in a half-hearted attempt at a shrug. It wasn't even a full out shoulder lift, just a half-assed excuse of recognition. Roxas rolled his eyes, craning his neck around and looking at all his things. The brothers apartment wasn't too cluttered, but that was mostly Roxas' doing. Sora had always been a pack rat, which was why his room was No Man's Land. Suddenly, and with too much force a knock rattled the door on it's hinges and violently shook the blonde out of his thoughts. Roxas screamed, high pitched and girly, while Axel hopped off the couch, tucking the gun behind his back and waltzed over to let their guest in.

"About fucking time!" Axel shouted as another man walked in, he was tall but no where near Axel's height, or well not too far from the redhead. Roxas didn't know what hair colour to pin onto the man, it was anyone's guess. The closest Roxas could get would be silver, and even then it wasn't quite exact. He felt like asking Riku, because clearly that was who this man was. It was the only person Roxas was expecting, the only person he'd heard Axel talk to. When the silver haired man turned, Roxaswas taken off guard. He was actually very attractive and shared a strange similarity with Xemnas. It was almost as if they were family. "How long could it possibly take you, Riku? You don't even live that far," Axel was ranting, his voice becoming just an annoying buzz in the background while Roxas concentrated on the new member of their little Sora scavenger hunt ."It only took me like 2 hours to get here from Xemnas', and that is _waaaay _farther."

"That's because you're a speed demon," Riku's gaze was suddenly all over Roxas, examining the tiny blonde with a piercing stare. His eyes were like nothing Roxas had ever seen before, and to tie it all together he was dressed rather nicely. A clean pressed shirt with the sleeves rolled up and form fitting, worn out jeans. In that instant Roxas wanted to know just what his brother was doing with someone like Riku, what he could possibly have been involved in. The man was intriguing, captivating and Roxas had to internally slap himself a million and one times for even letting these peoples looks distract him for even a second. "Ah, so this is Roxas…you must be the younger twin," The man smiled at Roxas and the blonde just scowled at him. How many people that he'd never met knew all about him because of Sora?

"Who the hell are you?" Roxas was really getting fed up with all this. It was his life they were screwing around with, he felt as though he should have more knowledge of the situation at hand yet he knew close to nothing about what was going on. Sure, Sora owed money, but how much would have these people hounding you? His kidnapping had all been a mistake and he was supposed to help Axel locate Sora, but who the hell was Riku and why the hell did he have to tag along? The blonde crossed his arms angrily over his chest and Axel appeared in his peripheral vision. A shock of bright red was the first thing Roxas noticed, then the hands on his shoulders kneading the muscle and if Roxas would have loosened up, all the tension would have disappeared. Sadly he stayed just as stiff, stilling the redhead's movements.

"I'm guessing Sora never told you?" Riku seemed like he was going to keep talking but Axel interrupted him, and loudly too. His laughter almost leaving Roxas deaf, his eardrum throbbing after the ruckus was done. Riku was clearly lost, his light eyebrows furrowing and his lips scrunching together. Axel soaked all this in, feeding off Riku's confusion like some sort of sadistic sea sponge.

"Oh no Ku-ku. Before you shoot off into some ridiculous introduction, let me show you what I called you here for," Axel jumped over the couch and headed straight towards the picture of Sora and Kairi. Roxas simply watched all this take place and Riku seemed to be watching the redhead also, wondering just what the hell the man was doing. When Axel was beside Riku again, he handed the picture over and Roxas stood from the couch, only to have Axel tug the gun out and point it right at the blonde's head. "Stay sitting Blondie, no funny business." Roxashad forgotten he was still being held captive and dropped onto the couch with an annoyed huff. Riku, however was just staring at the photo in his hands.

"Okay…Sora and some chick…" Even though he still looked confused something in his face and voice told Roxas he already knew who Kairi was, or at least he knew she was Sora's girlfriend and that information appeared to be causing the man a lot of distress. Axel frowned and took the picture from Riku's limp hands and held it in front of his face, pointing the gun at Sora, then at Kairi.

"Yeah that's Sora alright, and that chick? She ain't no random broad. She's his girlfriend," Riku's eyes suddenly became five shades darker, his face taking on a dark, shadowy look and his hands, which had been flax at his sides suddenly clenched into tight, trembling fists.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Riku didn't sound so friendly anymore, and his voice scared Roxas quite some bit. "Axel, this better not be some fucking joke or else I'll break your fucking nose clean off your face," Riku flung himself around, a fist ready to cause major damage, cocked back and another fist tangled in Axel's loose shirt. The redhead was however, completely unfazed by this and his face stayed completely blank while Riku shook him furiously.

"Ask Blondie over there, this chick, her name's Kairi and she's Sora's girlfriend," Riku let go of Axel's shirt and covered his face. Roxas by this point was beyond confused and venturing into bewildered. He felt the questions bubbling in his throat and he was tempted to raise his hand, just to see if it was finally okay to ask about something. Axel tossed a carefree arm over his friend's shoulders but the man wasn't crying.

"I feel like an idiot," Riku's voice was muffled but Axel nodded along, listening closely. Roxas too was listening with interest, his slow brain trying to connect everything but he felt like he was missing a vital piece of information to tie everything together. Axel caught his eye and grinned at the blonde, letting go of Riku and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Roxas, I know you've got questions so ask 'em."

"Who exactly is Riku?" Roxasasked quietly, afraid that if he asked too loud, the silver haired man would get that dark look in his eyes again and would go for his jugular or something. Axel rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath, looking like he was about to take a very high dive.

"Riku is Sora's Las Vegas secret," The loud smack startled Roxas, and Axel stumbled forward from the force of Riku's hand. The silver haired man was scowling but his eyes were back to normal. While Axel rubbed viciously at the affected area of his head, Riku took a seat beside Roxas, getting himself comfortable against the arm rest before lifting his shoes up onto the coffee table. Roxas glared at his feet before deciding that he'd rather not say anything and risk ruining his chance at finding out who the hell Riku was.

"Alright…from what Axel told me on the phone, you're completely in the dark about this whole mess. Well, seeing as I'm Xemnas' brother, I have the authority to tell you, unlike my fickle assistant over there," Axel was about to say something, no doubt nasty and crude but Riku stopped him when he continued to speak, not even giving the redhead a chance to fit in a few words. "Sora borrowed about 20k from my older brother to pay back Luxord, this big casino owner. He owed Luxord money because, well, your brother's got a little bit of a gambling problem when he drinks," So, Sora was in all this mess because he was a horrible drunk gambler? Roxas could not describe the rage he felt as it consumed his insides, it felt like hot magma slowly coating his veins and the urge to strangle his brother was almost frightening. He was in all this mess because Sora made stupid mistakes in Vegas? Clearly his brother had never heard that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. The blonde could barely contain the urge to scream, luckily Riku continued. "Well, I met him while he was talking to my brother and…uhm…" Suddenly Riku got awkward, his pale cheeks gathering a reddish tint and his eyes would no longer meet Roxas' stare. The blonde turned to stare at Axel and the man groaned before pushing himself off the wall he had so casually leaned up against.

"They decided to do a little gambling together, which turned into drinking which turned into hotel bed busting. Badabing, badaboom, you get Riku falling in love and chasing Sora all the way back to this city and there you have it. A wonderful homosexual relationship, all because of roulette," Axel fluttered his eyelashes before making exaggerated gagging sounds and Riku glared at him. Roxas didn't see any of that however, his mind was still stuck on Axel's first words. Hotel bed busting? Surely that didn't mean Sora and Riku…no, it couldn't mean that because that would mean Sora was gay and Roxas knew for a fact his brother was straight. He would have told Roxas something so serious, he would have trusted Roxas like he had done so many times. Sora would have confronted their parents along side Roxas when the blonde bravely came out of the closet and withstood their screams and hurtful words. Sora would have never let Roxas suffer the confusion and pain all alone.

"That's not true," The voice didn't seem to belong to Roxas, but the blonde knew it was his because that was what he had been thinking. Axel and Riku stopped arguing, which they appeared to have been doing for a few minutes. They both looked over and Roxas shook his head a few times, his bottom lip quivering. "You're both lying to me…Sora…he…he's not…He's with Kairi." This wasn't true…it couldn't be. If it was, Roxas didn't know what to do. He didn't even have Sora in front of him, he couldn't scream at the brunette, he couldn't ask him these questions himself. He couldn't because Sora was fleeing, like a coward, he was running away from this hurricane of lies he left behind. As much as Roxas didn't want to see it, this was the last piece of information he had been missing. After Sora returned from Las Vegas his relationship with Kairi had slowly begun to fall apart and no one ever knew why. This was why Riku had responded so strangely to the fact that Sora had a girlfriend. It was because…they had _something_.

"It's true Roxas…I'd come over every night, sneak right in through the balcony…you know, the wiggly screen comes right off," Riku's voice might have sounded mocking, like he was making fun of Roxas for not seeing what went on right under his nose, in his very house, but the man's face was pained. It was like those nights had once been a pleasant memory but now it ached to recall them. Roxas could no longer deny the truth that had been splayed right before him. Riku knew about the wiggly screen and only he and Sora knew about that. Riku must have been in his apartment plenty of times, and only at night. If Sora would have wanted Roxas to meet him, they would have had him over for coffee or something, but clearly Riku was not a friend and clearly, Sora had never wanted them to meet. "It sucks that we both had to find out these things about Sora, huh?" A low chuckle escaped Riku's lips but there was no humour in it. Roxas just licked his dry lips and stared up at Axel. The man was leaning against the wall again, picking under his nails with the tip of the switch blade. Suddenly Roxas remembered why they were at the apartment. They were here to get some clothes for the blonde then set off to find Sora.

Sora…he had betrayed Roxas' trust. The blonde tried not to feel hurt but it was near impossible. He had trusted Sora with everything, from the tiniest detail to the most vital of information and yet, his twin had kept so much from him. It was then the blonde decided he would actually help Axel find his twin, it was the least that backstabber deserved. Roxas needed to find Sora for himself too, he needed to ask him why he never told him any of this, he needed to know why he never even asked for help.

"Axel, the first place we should go look for Sora would be at Kairi's. She lives an hour away on the University campus," the words came out before Roxas had a chance to even reconsider his decision to help Axel. The redhead lifted his gaze from his fingernails to Roxas and the blonde stood up, picking up his duffle bag and popping his back. He wasn't ready for another hour in Axel's oven of a car, nor was he ready to start this mission to look for Sora, but he wanted all this to end already and he really wanted to slap Sora across the face. The blonde knew his brother wouldn't bother going too far…but then he realized he probably was wrong about that too and he wondered just how much he really knew about his brother. The more he thought like this, the angrier he became and the more he wanted to find that traitor.

"Oh, the girlfriend's place…Sure you wanna come Riku?" Axel looked over his shoulder as he led the other men out of the apartment. Riku said something but it was mumbled and instead dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. Roxas gathered his keys from their hanger and locked the door, as he turned he smacked into Axel's chest and the redhead placed his hand on the small of the blonde's back. Roxas was about to complain when again he spotted his neighbour was out. She watched as Roxas shuffled over to the small set of stairs leading towards the elevator with Axel right behind and the blonde became nervous quickly.

"I'll see you soon Mrs. Esmeralda, going camping with these two," Roxas tried to sound joking, tried to smile and seem like he was going camping with his two best friends in the world rather than Riku, his brother's secret gay lover, and Axel, someone sent to capture his brother and "remind" him about his debt with a mobster. All the old woman did was wave weakly and smile back at him, she was probably still a little blown away by Axel, or better said "Lea". Before Roxaswas able to wave back, Axel tugged him away and down the steps towards the elevator where Riku was holding the door open and waiting for them.

"Well, we're off to find Sora…" Axel was the only one who was in a chipper mood. Both Roxas and Riku were scowling, lost in their own worlds. Roxas was thinking of different ways to beat Sora for lying to him. It hurt that his twin, of all people, lied to him. That Sora, who had said he would never keep anything from Roxas, had kept all this hidden for so many months. Roxas was beyond furious. Axel cleared his throat, and Roxas looked up. The redhead just smiled.

"So…if you _wanna come find him, does this mean you aren't my prisoner anymore?"_

"Shut up."

"Watch your mouth, I still got the gun."

"Both of you just be quiet. I can already tell this is going to be hell. It's bad enough Axel's too cheap for A/C."

"I like the heat!"

It was a little disturbing but Roxas found that he couldn't agree with Riku more. This was going to be hell.

* * *

**A/N: *For Author's reason for being so slow, see profile***

What? Roxas is going to help Axel! Well, can you blame him? Sora is a traitor. Our favorite little blonde feels betrayed and back stabbed, totally not cool ):  
What craziness will they all get into? Buahaha.  
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this little installment and I hope you'll be eagerly awaiting the next.

Thank you all so much for being so damn great (:

-Love, Sharmander.


	5. Off to the Coast

**Chapter Five**  
Off to the Coast

Roxas, in all his years of knowing Kairi, had never once seen the woman's face so drained of colour as it was when he appeared at her dorm room with Axel and Riku in tow. When Roxas knocked on the woman's door, he felt slightly guilty for throwing all this upon her, especially in her busy university life, but only slightly. Sadly, Axel wasn't nearly as sympathetic. His large boot splintered the wood of her door when he barged in, kicking it open and sending the girl sprawling onto her back. Roxas was about to jump in, when Riku grabbed his arm in a grip that was painful enough for it to feel like his bone would snap if the man tightened his fingers any more. "Stay back," Riku hissed, reminding Roxas that the pathetic blonde was still in no place to make any of his own decisions. He was forced to watch as Axel tugged the tiny, redhead off the floor, her blue eyes round and filled with questions, which were all aimed at Roxas.

"Where's Sora?" Axel asked, shaking her roughly when she didn't respond, her lips a tight, defiant line. Roxas wished he could warn her, tell her to just comply and it would all be over soon. He didn't want her to have to suffer, but knowing his brother's girlfriend, she would not bend to please anyone. Suddenly, they were all staring in the direction of a shrill scream, both Kairi and Roxas' eyes widening in horror. Roxas didn't know why Kairi looked so scared, but he was terrified because there was a witness. He wasn't sure exactly what people like Axel and Riku did with witnesses but he had a feeling it wasn't good. Axel quickly pulled out his weapon, aiming it right at the screaming girl's head before snapping his eyes back onto Kairi's petrified face. "Shut the bitch up, or I'll blow her fucking brains out!" Axel made his point by jamming the gun under the woman's chin, her small body shaking in fear and Roxas felt his heart break. This was terrible, and it made him wonder if his abduction was anything close to this. Kairi just shook her head, causing Axel to snarl deep in his throat and push the gun just a little harder. Kairi shut her eyes tight looking like she might cry, her teeth clenching as Axel twisted the end of the silencer into her tender flesh.

"Fuck you…" The woman gritted through her teeth, seething and Axel's fingers tightened around the handle of his gun. Roxas felt fear coil in his stomach, watching the man's fingers inch closer to the trigger.

"Kairi, just please…listen!" Roxas shouted from his post and the woman opened her eyes just to glare at him as Axel turned to stare at the blonde, one eyebrow arched in question. "W-we just need to know where Sora is," Roxas hoped the redhead would listen to him, his eyes begging her and she seemed to realize he was just as scared as she was, and not at all to blame for the other man's violent behavior "We'll leave right after..."

The brunette in the hall went to scream again and everyone's skin prickled when Axel cocked the gun, his thin finger curling around the trigger. The blonde wasn't sure if the slight increase of pressure from the hold on his arm was Riku's excitement or anxiety. He hoped it was the former. Roxas wasn't ready to see someone's brains splatter against a wall; in fact he'd never be ready for such a gruesome sight. "Why should I tell you bastards anything?" Kairi spit venomously cutting off her friend. Axel tapped her cheek with the end of his gun, a faux-charming smile on his face.

"Because if you don't, they'll kill you!" Roxas yelled, trying to squirm out of Riku's grip but it was impossible. The silver haired man tugged him back, the presence of bruised skin slowly making itself known the more pain shot down Roxas' arm, his shoulder cracking loudly and making him cry out. Kairi seemed to consider this, sucking her lips into her mouth and staring at them all. Roxas knew she'd never been too fond of him, for reasons unknown to the blonde but still. He hoped the gun pointed at her friend's head was serious enough for her to take his word.

The girl screamed again and went to run, only to fall to the floor with an agonizing cry, blood oozing from a small hole in her knee. Kairi herself let out a cry, her whole body jerking in the direction of her injured friend. "Next time that fucking bitch screams…" Axel lowered his voice to a mere whisper, Roxas straining to hear as the man breathed the words into the redhead's ear. "Boom, headshot," Axel made the motion of shooting the gun again and laughed maniacally. Kairi just stared at him with watering eyes, anger and hatred etching themselves into her delicate features. Her friend writhed on the floor, hands cupping her injured leg as more and more blood poured onto the floor.

"Selphie…be quiet…s-stop screaming…" Kairi's voice wavered with unshed tears and the brunette weakly lifted her head to nod, her lips sealing shut as she laid there, helpless and in pain. Roxas chanced a glance upwards, trying to study Riku's hard expression but he found nothing. Not even a little sympathy for the two innocent girls.

"Riku, watch the door…Make sure no one heard the fuckin' banshee over there," Axel pushed Kairi towards the other girl; roughly moving her deeper into the small apartment and Roxas had to fight the urge to run right behind them. Not like he'd be able to go after them anyway, Riku was still holding him hard enough to fracture his bones.

"H-he's not…he wouldn't…" Roxas couldn't force the question past his lips and Riku scoffed, closing the broken door as much as possible before turning to stare at the blonde. They moved towards the loveseat and Riku pushed the man down before sitting beside him and getting comfortable, as if he was in his own home, his dirty boots resting on the clean coffee table. His eyes scanned all the pictures hung on the walls, some were of Sora and Kairi together and Roxas watched as a flicker of emotion passed over the other wise cold expression.

"He wouldn't what?" The man asked, his fingers tapping out an unknown beat and Roxas didn't know what he could say. He didn't want to even think of the things Axel could do to Kairi, the small woman just seemed so frail and unable to protect herself. He could hear the girl, Selphie, sobbing on the floor and he felt sick to his stomach. How could they just barge in here and do this to two innocent people? His anger slowly grew, the thought that this was all Sora's damn fault becoming the most prominent in his mind. Roxas had never been one to hit when angry, but right now, he just wanted to punch someone in the face. He didn't care if it was Axel, Riku or Sora. It would be even better if he could just beat all three.

"Hurt them?" Roxas squeaked out, Riku's cold tone scaring him just a little and the man laughed out, throwing his head back and looking at Roxas through his bangs.

"He just shot one of them, I think that counts for hurting them."

"B-but…I meant…as in…" Roxas didn't know what he meant, but Riku seemed to get the blonde's implications and he glared at him, pushing all the hair out of his face just to make sure the man got the full impact of his heated stare.

"We aren't some fucking sick rapists, if that's what you're getting at."

The apartment was strangely quiet after that and Roxas sat there, staring off into nothing and wondering just when he'd be able to go home again. He wondered just where Sora had run off to because it was clear that the brunette wasn't hiding in Kairi's apartment. Axel stormed out, scaring the crap out of Roxas as he kicked over the coffee table and stood there seething, Riku calmly lowered his feet, looking completely nonchalant. "The fucking guy's not here. She said he took off to the coast," the redhead paced like a caged animal and Roxas shriveled on the couch. Sora took off to the coast, but…who did he know that lived there? Suddenly, he remembered.

"I know where he might be…" Roxas' voice was quiet when he spoke and Axel turned on his heel to stare at him, his face told the blonde that he was no longer in the mood to joke around with anyone. Axel was seriously getting pissed off. With a very dry, painful swallow Roxas tried to speak, his words however kept failing him and he just couldn't squeeze the name out. As he was going to attempt for a third time, Kairi walked out and helped her friend stand. The brunette leaning heavily on the other female.

"If you're going to go look for him…go now before I call campus security. I don't ever want to see any of you again," Kairi looked at Roxas as she said this, her blue eyes cold and unforgiving as he tried not to look directly at her. Eye contact always made him feel uneasy and the way she was looking at him was not helping him feel at home at all. "Roxas…if you ever do find Sora, tell him we're through. After all the crap he put me through, I never want to see his face again." With that, Kairi led her friend away from everyone and into the rooms, the door slamming signaling their departure. Axel just threw his hands up before stomping over to the door, almost ripping it off its hinges when he tugged it open.

Slowly Riku got to his feet, Roxas figuring he might as well get up himself to avoid being squeezed and tugged painfully. The blonde awkwardly struggled to push himself off the couch, his arm throbbing and not really feeling too nice when used. When he was finally up, Riku shoved him towards the exit, making the man stumble. Roxas thought better about complaining and instead quickened his steps, hurrying to catch up with Axel before he decided to leave them behind and head to the coast without them in tow. "Do you know where he is? If you do, I suggest you start talking kid," Riku slid on his sunglasses, though Roxas didn't have any clue why. The sun was almost out of the sky, twilight taking over but not doing anything to cool off the over heated earth. It was still sweltering when they stepped outside, droplets of sweat seemed to just spontaneously erupt all over Roxas' skin and he really did not want to step into the cramped sports car.

"I think he's at a friend's house…the only person on the coast that I know was named Tidus," Roxas shrugged as they approached the car, Riku reiterating the information Roxas had just given him to Axel. The redhead pushed himself off the car and turned to stare at the blonde, his green eyes looking even greener in the outside lighting. He questioned him, asking if the information was true and Roxas nodded, scanning his brain for Tidus' last name.

"Fine…Riku, call Demyx and tell him to get us Tidus' address…what's his last name?" Roxas was again forcefully shoved into the tiny car, though he could have easily gotten in himself. It seemed that Axel just wanted to vent in some way and Roxas bit his tongue. The last thing he needed was to be shot in the head now, after struggling to stay alive all this time. The leather seats were on fire, the heat seeping into Roxas' clothes and making his entire body clammy as he told them Tidus' last name was Palmer. Riku groaned from the front seat, his fingers twisting and turning knobs in vain. Axel just did not have an AC. After giving up on ever cooling them off with an artificial breeze, Riku pivoted in his seat and looked at Roxas.

"Palmer?" there was suppressed laughter in his voice, a shit eating grin slowly spreading across his face the longer he stared at Roxas, who was sitting in the back completely serious. He hoped to God Axel would slam on the breaks and send Riku back first into the dashboard but he knew that wouldn't happen. They were leaving the campus and they hadn't picked up nearly enough speed to cause any damage.

"Yes, Palmer," Roxas crossed his arms over his chest, staring straight at the silver haired man as he burst out laughing, filling the car with the loud annoying sound. Everything the two men sitting in the front did bothered Roxas, everything they said grated on his nerves and made him feel like screaming his throat raw.

"Probably cock palmer," Axel said as he turned onto the main street, the university still in sight out the back window, Roxas casting one last look. He figured he'd never see the campus again, and felt no sadness at all. In all honesty this was his first time setting foot on the lush grasses that made up York University, and he didn't have any attachments to the place. He wondered if Sora would be upset when they found him and Roxas delivered Kairi's message. Then he figured the brunette backstabber had probably said his good-bye weeks ago.

The silence that filled the car after Axel's last comment stretched on for a few minutes, Roxas shifting and trying to feel the breeze that was blowing in through Axel's open window, enjoying the cooling effect it had as it hit his hot skin. The silence was broken when Riku held his phone up to his ear, calling who Roxas assumed was Demyx. The call didn't last long, the man asking for the information to be text to him as soon as possible, and just as quickly as it had started, it was over and Riku was putting his phone away. Roxas waited for Axel to say something as Riku propped his feet up on the dashboard, particles of mud falling and dirtying the nice interior. The redhead quickly glanced over, taking his eyes off the road long enough to smack Riku's feet down.

"Stop being a fucking idiot and sit normally," The redhead almost swerved into oncoming traffic when Riku pushed his head roughly, grumbling about overly sensitive redheaded men who needed to loosen up.

"You do realize this ride is going to be at least 3 days," Riku grumbled, grabbing a GPS system out of no where, his cell phone appearing in his hand. The man's source had probably already gotten the information. Roxas was semi-surprised to see it, and at the speed of the informant. He was glad however, that Axel wasn't that cheap and actually invested in a navigation system. They didn't have air conditioning but at least they knew where they were going.

"Yeah well, suck it up princess." Riku seemed to have to fight the urge to push Axel's head again and instead went on to typing out the address. When the system was set up and began to speak, telling Axel that he had to turn around, Roxas felt that same feeling of guilt. He was leading these two insane killers to another innocent person's house; he was going to cause unnecessary pain to someone who did not even expect it to be coming. Unless of course Tidus was hiding Sora, then he'd know there was going to be trouble. At this point, the blonde found himself not caring and just focused on the idea of finding his brother. He still wanted to confront his brother about all these lies; he still wanted to slap him across the face.

He didn't know if he'd eventually forgive his brother, and a voice deep down inside kept telling him he would but he just kept it quiet, deciding to leave that decision until the right time. They still had to find Sora, wherever he was.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, here is an update. It's not for Brotherly Love, but to be honest I'm rather stuck on that one. I hope to have the chapter out this weekend, but well with all this homework and actually APPLYING myself...well I don't have much time to write. Hopefully this let's you guys know I'm still alive and I plan on updating! Just...a lot slower than before. BARE WITH ME YOU GUYS!

I love you all. Very much. Mm MM MMM!

Thank you all for your wonderfulness.

-Sharmander.


	6. Let The Bodies Hit The Floor

**Chapter Six  
**Let The Bodies Hit The Floor

"Are we th-" Riku was cut off by Axel slamming on the breaks, the car screeching to a halt in the middle of the intersection. The rough stop jolted Roxas from his uncomfortable sleep and made him smack face first into the back of the redheaded driver's seat. The blonde blinked owlishly, taking in his surroundings and feeling for his seat belt before deciding to complain or not.

It wasn't much, and for miles and miles all around the only sight was corn and nothing else, not even cars. It was like a scene from one of those scary movies, where a group of teenage kids happen to run out of gas in the most deserted of places. Roxas quickly turned his gaze back to the men in the car, looking from one man's face to the other, trying to figure out why they'd stopped. Hopefully they hadn't really run out of gas out here.

While Riku was staring at Axel in total confusion, with a slight hint of anger, the only expression on Axel's face was exhaustion. "If you say that one more fucking time..." The man reached down in between the seats and pulled out his gun, jabbing his accomplice in the face before narrowing his already small eyes. "I will fucking blow your jaw off."

"Are we-"

The sound of the gun cocking had Roxas' heart rate accelerating and the sweat which had accumulated on his forehead, began to slowly trickle down his face. Why was Riku doing this now, in the middle of fucking nowhere? Especially while the sun was blazing down on them, cooking them like turkeys.

They still had so much more driving to do, and the GPS clearly showed it on its small screen. Yet, the silver-haired man had been asking when they'd arrive for the past three hours. Clearly, it was starting to drive Axel crazy. It would annoy anyone really, but Roxas was too hot to really care. Plus, he had been sleeping...until Axel decided to rudely wake him up. Though he really should have had his seat belt on, especially knowing how the redheaded maniac drove.

"Riku, I'm not fucking joking with you." The taller man was clenching his teeth together so tightly, Roxas was sure that at any second, they would shatter and fall right out of his gums. The look of complete nonchalance on Riku's face was slightly unnerving. How could anyone sit there, so calmly when a psychotic man had a gun, cocked and loaded, pointed at your face?

Roxas' eyes widened hugely as he shrunk back into the leather seats, finally getting a hold of the seat belt and buckling himself in. The two men in the front were just staring at each other now, each one as silent as the other. The small blonde didn't want to make a sound, because by the looks of it, driving for quite a few hours straight seemed to put Axel in a very, very foul mood. Riku however, didn't seem to care at all and instead he slapped the gun away from his face, rolling his eyes at his companion.

"Well, if we aren't there, we better be getting _somewhere_ soon. My fucking ass is asleep and my balls aren't too far behind."

That was more information than Roxas needed to know, so instead of continuing to listen to the two hit men, he turned his attention to the small, tinted window behind Riku's seat and peered out through it. The road was pretty much empty, except for their car and another one, off in the distance. The heat waves danced along the cement, melting all the colours together but the black vehicle was perfectly clear. One thing was for sure, the driver seemed to have no intention of slowing down. The van came closer and closer at an alarming rate and Roxas came to a horrible realization.

It was speeding _straight _at_ them._

"Uh...Axel," The man's voice was pathetic, his throat clogged with sleep and fear and he had to clear it roughly before trying again, his eyes still glued to the quickly approaching vehicle. "Axel...Riku..." He barely made a sound over the two in the front seat, who were now shouting at each other and when the van was close enough for Roxas to read the license plate, the warning made its way out.

"Guys...We're gonna be hit!"

The announcement was too late and by the time the other men looked up, the black van was already smashing into the side of Axel's Porsche. Roxas only had a split second to open his mouth and try to scream, before the metal of the car was crashing in towards him. The impact crushed the side of the tiny sports car and sent them skidding across the road. It seemed like they would tip over, until the tires smacked back onto the ground, bouncing the car roughly one last time before finally stopping, and at some point Axel and Riku's airbags had burst out to save them. Roxas on the other hand, didn't have much as far as protection went.

Every bone in the blonde's body cracked, his spine felt like it was on the brink of snapping and his neck was burning but at least he was still breathing. He blinked past the pain in his head, and with very slow movements, turned to see if the other men were alright.

Riku was struggling to undo his seat belt and Axel sat up quickly after smashing his airbag back into place, then cast a glance over his own seat, back towards Roxas. The blonde saw the man's forehead was steadily dripping blood and he could feel some on his own face. They were all in shock, none of them speaking until the sound of gunshots split the air. The sound of the bullets piercing the front of Axel's car were sickeningly loud, and Roxas instinctively covered his ears, curling up against the side of the car even if his entire body was on fire.

He had to look up though, when he heard both Axel and Riku climb out, and it was almost immediately after exiting the car that he heard them start returning fire. He could clearly hear the softened sound of Axel's silenced gun, and the loud cracking of Riku's own weapon but he was too scared to move. The best part of them getting out of the car, was that whoever had crashed them was no longer shooting directly towards the blonde. They're attention was grabbed by the men and Roxas would hopefully be forgotten or not even noticed.

Roxas waited for the sounds to stop, his heart pounding in his throat and giving him something to concentrate on rather than the immense pain he was in. He couldn't understand how Riku and Axel climbed out of the car so easily, and he wondered if maybe this was his chance to escape. After all, if they could still move, he fucking would.

Stretching his neck, just barely, he stared out the shattered window of the seat he could have been in and he stopped. If he had been sitting behind Riku, he would have been dead. Completely crushed by the twisted metal but instead, he had been left alive. This was definitely a sign that he had to escape.

Clearing his head, he caught sight of what exactly was going on outside. There were strange men, ducking behind the doors of a black van, popping their heads out every now and then to shoot at Riku and Axel. Already a few lay dead on the roof of the vehicle. The two hit men were running straight at the shooters and Roxas ducked quickly, deeming them both dead and crazy.

With a great heave, he pushed the driver's seat forward and luckily, the door was left open by the redhead. It felt like pure agony to move, but he forced himself out of the back and out into the open. The ground was burning and littered with shards of glass, and as soon as his palms made contact with the scorching cement, he slightly regretted his decision to climb out head first. It wasn't important now though, what was important however, was crawling away from all the men and finding a good place to hide until everyone was either dead or gone.

It was as he was crawling towards the side of the road, (the cornfield a perfect place to get lost in) that another car came speeding down the empty street but this time, not towards the destroyed Porsche but towards the van. The man who had been standing right outside the driver's side was taken along with the door, flying onto the hood and rolling over the car before landing roughly behind as it spun around, coming back for another round.

The men began shooting at the car, instead of at Axel and Riku but that didn't slow it down at all. It came at them at the same speed, only this time, the passenger window opened and Xigbar's head popped out, in his hands, a Mac-10 was spitting out shots, littering the already holey car with more holes.

Roxas was almost at the side of the road, his head and heart both pounding to the same beat, while the rest of his body ached in ways he never thought possible. The sound of empty casings hitting the floor filled the air and he wondered just when all the shooting would stop. With that question in his mind, he chanced a look back and caught sight of Demyx and Xigbar as they rushed out of their car towards Axel and Riku. It seemed now was the time the bullets would stop.

The redhead was storming away from the men, straight towards the man on the ground who had been hit by Demyx's car. Roxas couldn't see Riku and he wondered briefly where the man was before turning his gaze back to Axel.

The gun was held tightly in the redhead's hands when he stopped, his feet inches away from the man's face and it appeared like they were speaking to each other, though Roxas was almost sure the other man was dead. Regardless, the blonde couldn't hear a thing, his ears were ringing and if he wasn't so terrified that_ he_ might die, he would have been worried about his hearing.

He tried to drag himself forward, trying to forget the chaos behind him and he did for a while until he had to take another look back. The curiosity was eating him alive, and he was also afraid that at any second, Axel would look up and spot him. He was still quite a distance from his escape.

What he saw when he looked back stopped all his efforts though.

Something was wrong with the man on the ground. It appeared as though he was actually moving his arms to reach for the gun he had dropped, weakly swinging them outwards but Axel had blocked his path. He was still alive...if not just barely.

Roxas couldn't tear his eyes away, especially when Axel began screaming, using his gun to point towards his car, then down at the man. Each time the barrel pointed to the man, Roxas held his breath for a few seconds, anticipating the gruesome sight. He was taken by surprise when Axel lifted his foot, placing his heavy boot on the side of the man's head as he bent over to say something to him. Roxas knew what was coming and he knew he had to look away, but he couldn't.

The blonde's stomach curled in on itself as he watched Axel apply pressure, and even if his ears were still ringing, he could hear the man screaming in pain, his hands clutching at the redhead's ankles. Roxas' heart began to race, and he knew he was going to throw up, especially when the redhead began stomping down on the man's skull. The man seemed to give up trying to stop it and instead began to flail. It made the blonde wonder, why he wasn't rolling away...then he remembered how badly he'd been hit.

That was it, Roxas couldn't keep watching anymore and he finally tore his eyes away, a person would have to be disturbed to want to see the rest. The blonde was fighting against his puke, as it sat right in the middle of his esophagus, waiting for him to let his guard down so it could rush up and out of his mouth. The man's screams turned into strange gurgling sounds until...silence. Complete and utter silence. The blonde almost didn't know what was better. The sound of bullets or this eerie quiet.

"Someone check on Roxas!" Axel's voice slapped said blonde out of his horrified state and once he realized he had to start moving again, it was too late. Xigbar had already discovered he was missing from the backseat and had rushed around the side of the car, to find the blonde slithering away on his belly. Demyx was next to appear in the blonde's line of vision, his once oddly styled hair, a crazy mess of blonde tangles.

"Hey Ax, you should come see this!" The eye-patched man called, a sick smile on his face as he stared down at the injured male. Roxas stopped struggling and laid still on the hot ground, too exhausted to care about the pieces of glass stabbing into his knees, elbows and stomach. He waited for the redhead to come and crush his skull into the cement for trying to escape, but it never happened.

Instead Axel didn't come around, and it was Demyx who ran towards Roxas. The man bent over, helping the shorter blonde stand up. Roxas didn't want to stand, he wanted to stay on the ground and be left alone. Moving and using his legs hurt, and his back was definitely in a significant amount of pain. "Can you walk?" Demyx asked softly and Roxas looked up towards him, staring into the man's face until realizing what had happened. He didn't want this murder touching him.

With a shove, Demyx was a few paces away from Roxas, and the man limped back horribly to the crushed car. Everything hurt, and each step was more painful than the one before it. The man didn't know how much farther he'd be able to walk, crawling away really tired him out.

His anger was what fueled him on for the few steps he took before wobbling and almost falling over. He was so mad, his pain almost didn't matter. All he could think was:

"Fucking Sora." He glared off into nothing and pushed himself for another step. Demyx rushed up behind him, grabbing his shoulders and steadying the man. Even if the blonde didn't want to admit it, it was much easier to walk with Demyx's help.

"Axel, Roxas is in some pretty rough shape," Demyx announced when they got to the car, Xigbar a few steps behind them, still carrying the small machine gun. Axel didn't answer, and waited for them to come around the car. They all saw what was keeping the man so quiet.

Riku was bleeding from his side, his hand completely covered in red and his nice shirt ruined. The man looked up towards them and he was pale, his light eyes making him look almost ghostly. Roxas leaned a bit more towards Demyx, the sight of all the blood made him woozy.

"We're taking them to Vexen. Xigbar grab Riku, Demyx you take Roxas and meet me at your car." Axel got up from Riku's side just as the eye-patched man moved to gently lift Riku off the ground. Roxas turned his head, trying to see where Axel was going but Demyx moved him along, pushing him towards the black car. He didn't miss the giant, bleeding gash on the man's arm.

"Come on, we have A/C," The words sounded foreign at first and Roxas had to blink a few times to clear his head. Demyx sent him a smile before it finally all made sense. Demyx's car had air conditioning. He would finally be out of this fucking heat!

…

Axel was taking forever, and Roxas wasn't the only one who thought so. It had only been around 5 minutes since they entered the car but those minutes were completely different for Riku. The blonde sat stiffly in the passenger seat and even if he felt the urge, he never once looked back at Demyx and the silver-haired man.

The earth gave a sudden lurch, and a few seconds after a loud boom came with a burst of light. Xigbar began laughing, revving the car's engine a few times before Axel burst in through one of the back doors. Roxas looked back now, and found Riku holding Demyx's shirt against the wound and the once white fabric was now turning a darker shade of crimson rather quickly.

Roxas regret turning around almost immediately, his neck burning like Hell's fires were within it and his spine reacted with a sharp, stabbing throb and when Xigbar pushed on the gas, he flung himself forward just in time to put his seat belt on. "Everyone ready?" No one answered the man, everyone deciding to stay quiet but that didn't seem to matter. Just like that, they left the scene and Roxas watched the flaming wreckage that had been Axel's sports car in the rear view as they drove off.

Once away from it all, the confusion finally began to seep in. He had no idea who those men in the black van were or why they had attacked them and it seemed as though none of the men in the car were going to discuss it. The only thing Roxas could hear, were the pained sounds of Riku's breathing and it made him uncomfortable every time the silver-haired male took a few too many seconds to inhale.

"We should call Xemnas...he needs to have that road cleaned," Demyx was the first to speak after a long time and again, no one answered him. The silence was unsettling and Xigbar appeared to be thinking the same thing.

"You pussy's are lucky I decided to follow you. That van had been with us since a few miles back, and y'all didn't even notice a damn thing! Where the fuck are your heads?" The man glanced up into the rear-view quickly and Roxas was trying to stay conscious, but there was a terrible throbbing behind his eyeballs that only subsided when he shut them.

"I thought those fuckers have more important things to fucking do!" Axel growled from the back and the sound of his voice, filled with such venom made Roxas' skin crawl. All he could see was that man clutching so desperately at the redhead's ankles, probably begging him to spare his life. The man was a killer, and if Roxas had been thinking that he was all bark and no bite, that was definitely not the case now.

"Wasn't Xemnas keeping tabs on them?" Demyx spoke up and both Xigbar and Axel let out barks of laughter. "What? You'd think he'd want to tell us about these pricks."

"That motherfucker's only concern is his money and his own life. He could give a rat's ass about us," Again, Axel's voice made Roxas prickly with goose flesh and he decided that he didn't really care if he had some sort of concussion and wasn't supposed to fall asleep. In fact, at this point, he was welcoming a coma.

"Xigbar, keep Goldilocks awake...and Demyx, call that cock sucker already!" Axel spat out demands like a general and no one objected. The eye-patched man reached over and patted the blonde's thigh, making him jump and curl up against the door, away from his filthy, blood tainted hands.

"Don't touch me," Roxas tried to sound threatening, but it only made Xigbar laugh and send him a creepy smirk.

"I can't be held responsible for what I do, if you fall asleep."

All tiredness was drained from the blonde male's body and he opened his eyes wide, focusing on the heat waves that made the road ahead wiggle. Again, that anger flared up in his veins and he thought about his snake of a brother. Fucking God Damned Sora. 

* * *

**A/N: **Wooooow, it's been forever since I updated this. But I want you all to know, I haven't given up on Just Between Us! I don't know if anyone remembers, but my computer died a long time ago and erased all my work. This chapter had been there but it was totally different. Now, looking back, I'm kind of glad that happened! I like this much more.  
New characters are coming, woot woot!

Anyway darlings, tell me what you think and all that jazz! It sustains me 8D

Love, Sharmander.


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